A Colorado driver facing vehicular homicide and DUI charges in connection with the death Saturday of a Boulder cyclist has made strong statements at town meetings and in letters to officials against cyclists and the problems he believes they create in his town.

According to an account published in the Lyons Recorder in March 2010, Patrick Ward made a series of statements before a meeting of the planning commission in Lyons, Colo., about proposals to promote bicycling in that town of about 2,000 people 15 miles north of Boulder.

The newspaper's account stated that Ward referred to "gangs" of cyclists disobeying laws and impeding traffic flow, and asked why it was that Boulder County sheriff's deputies didn't issue tickets to them.

"These people don't belong in Lyons," Ward was quoted as saying.

Larry Mertes, the lawyer representing Ward, said Wednesday that the remarks "had nothing to do with the tragic accident. ... There is absolutely no evidence of intentional conduct."

Michel Van Duym, 46, was riding his bike on Main Street in Lyons on Saturday afternoon when he was struck and killed by an SUV. Sheriff's deputies identified Ward, 69, as the driver of the SUV, and arrested him on suspicion of vehicular homicide, careless driving resulting in death and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The sheriff's office said it appeared that Ward was on the wrong side of the street when the accident occurred, heading west in the eastbound lane.

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Ward was charged Thursday with five crimes in the case and is being held on $25,000 bond.

Lyons Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen said that Ward had spoken about his feelings concerning cyclists' activity in the Lyons area at more than one public meeting.

In response to an open records request from the Camera, Simonsen's office on Thursday released numerous documents reflecting comments by Ward at town meetings in 2010 and 2011 in which he expressed strong opinions on bicyclists -- as well as public art.

In a handwritten letter to town officials, Ward assailed the town's plans for a bicycle network. "Why are we inviting even more of them into our community?" he asked, noting that he had yet to see the "18- to 25-year-old gangs of cyclists coming from Boulder swarming into our restaurants, antiques shops, hardware store and liquor stores."

In the letter, Ward noted that the "uncourteous" cyclists "constantly break the law with impunity."

He criticizes Boulder bicylists, and says, "In Boulder I came within 1 foot of killing a cyclist while turning right."
The letter ends with a plea that officials do not "Boulderize Lyons."